This Is My Heart
by Kayleigh Rose
Summary: It's hard enough being a teen with friends, relationships, and family but in a place like Degrassi it's harder trying to stay yourself.


**Disclaimer:** Degrassi is definitely not owned by me. All characters and situations other than my own are sole property of their respective owners.

**Author's Note: **Over the years, Degrassi has definitely been a constant thing in my life. I watch it all the time and unlike any other show i watch, I really feel like I can relate even though half of the stuff on there has never happened to me. So this is my way of writing what i think is a good direction for the show to go in. Instead of focusing on one certain character or one situation this story is definitely going to focus on many characters if not all. Past or present doesn't matter since I seem to have subplots for everyone. Takes place right after Just Can't Get Enough.

**Summary:** Claire has a heart to heart with her sister. Holly J begins to realize how dumb her mistake was. Ashley hears some surprising news.

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**Chapter One  
**

* * *

"Claire! Darcy's on the phone for you." yelled Mrs. Edwards from the kitchen.

"I've got it."answered Claire.

She closed the door to her room, hoping that for a moment she could actually have a private talk with Darcy. Her mother tended to be very overprotective and Claire wouldn't have been surprised if she had been monitoring her phone calls.

"Hey, Darce." said Claire as she settled herself on her bed.

It had been several weeks since she last heard from her sister and she missed her but more than that she felt it was her obligation to tell Darcy what had happened that weekend to Peter. She knew more than anything in the world that Darcy was still really hung up on him.

"Hey. So what's been going on lately. It's been awhile since we talked."

"Uhh, not much really. Same old, same old. You?"

"Nada. I guess by now though I should know that Kenya's not really the most exciting place on earth but don't get me wrong I like it."

Claire could hear the happiness in her sister's voice, something that she hadn't heard in awhile especially before Darcy left. She knew that her sister had gone through a rough time but Darcy hadn't really confided in Claire, something that now made her try to strength her relationship with her older sister.

"Look, Darcy. There's something I really want to tell you but I don't know how to say it."

"Whatever it is Claire you can tell me. We're sisters. Were supposed to tell secrets to each other."

"It's about Peter."

"Oh." Darcy sighed and Claire took a deep breath. "How is he?"

"Not good. You see at the dance last night, he was kinda acting different."

"What do you mean?"

"Alli told me that she heard from her brother that Peter's doing meth."

Darcy gasped. In all the time she had known Peter never had she ever imagined that he would do drugs. It just wasn't him. But of course she truly didn't know Peter anymore now that she had been gone for so long.

"Do you know why? I mean that doesn't seem like Peter."

"I don't know. I heard that he and Mia broke up but becoming a meth addict seems like a pretty drastic thing to do."

The line became quiet and Claire wasn't quite sure. what was going on. Maybe she should have told Darcy after all. She should have been more sensitive to her sister's feeling. Her mom was always telling her that one little thing could set back Darcy from fully recovering.

"Claire?"

"Yeah, Darce."

"Don't tell mom or dad but I'm gonna come home. Alright?"

Maybe it was time she came home. Not just because she knew she could talk some sense into Peter but as much as Darcy didn't want to admit it, she knew she was losing a sense of who she was and if she ever wanted to get it back, she needed to go home.

"Okay, just promise me one thing."

"What is it Claire?"

"Promise you won't leave again. I really need my big sister."

"I promise."

* * *

Ever since Holly J had returned back to work at the Dot she had found it to be surprisingly busy. Not that she didn't like the extra cash but it was obvious people were just coming so they could be in the presence of what they considered a hero.

Of course being a hero had it's perks but it also had it's bad side. Like people pretending to be her friend and now everybody was holding her up on some pedestal expecting her to be perfect when she most definitely wasn't.

That of course wasn't really the true thing that was bothering Holly J though. It was Blue.

They had broken up for the second time and Holly J was pretty sure it would be the last. So she had gotten angry, but she never meant to actually break up with Blue, just let him know loud and clear that just because he saw a good side of her didn't mean that she was going to completely change herself for his sake.

But of course once again Holly J had done exactly the opposite of what she expected. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she missed Blue a lot. She missed the way he smiled at her and how he offered to do dumb little things like open the door for her or carry her books in the hallway. She missed knowing there was someone who knew the real her and didn't let her get away with being rude and snappy.

"Holly J, get to work!"

Holly J's thoughts were interrupted by Spinner's booming voice.

"Fine, fine! You don't have to ask twice."

Holly J grabbed her notepad from the bar and began to take orders. "Hi, what can I get you." she said as she smiled at the customer.

* * *

Ashley Kerwin sighed as she closed her apartment door behind her and hung her coat on the coat hanger.

She was tired. After spending all day in class and then going to her job as a waitress, she was finding it hard to keep up. It was hard for her to believe that just a couple of months ago she had actually been on tour with Craig Manning.

Craig Manning, the person she once considered the love of her life. That though had changed once they started the tour. Ashley began to see more and more of Craig on the stage than she did on a regular basis. She should have known that it wouldn't have last but yet again she had let Craig deceive her into thinking that everything would work out.

Ashley noticed that she had a new message on her answering machine. She pressed the button and sat down on her couch closing her eyes.

"Hey, Ashley. It's Jimmy. I found your number in the phone book and I thought I'd give you a call"

Ashley's eyes suddenly opened and grew wide at the sound of Jimmy's voice. She hadn't heard from Jimmy ever since spring break last year.

"I was just calling to tell you that well... I'm getting married. I also wanted you to know that I really want you to be there. In fact it would mean a lot to me."

Jimmy. Getting married? Ashley could barely put the two together. She had used to think that she and Jimmy would get married back when she was younger. It had even crossed her mind when they began dating again when she came back to Degrassi. But who was she kidding? Every guy she had been with had moved on. Why? Because Ashley Kerwin would never be good enough for them.

The worst thing was that it seemed like all her friends were moving on and growing up while she was still being the same irresponsible, emotionally unstable girl she had always been.


End file.
